“Mayday? What the frack is a mayday?” asked Saul as he listened to the recording in Admiral’s quarters on Galactica. “They keep saying that word—it must be important.”

“Colonial, Marine, Acheron—those words I recognize,” said the Admiral. “But it certainly has the feel of a distress call, doesn’t it?”

Saul nodded. “But if they are Colonials, then why are they using such an obscure language? And why didn’t they preface it with krypter?”

“What if . . .,” Helo began and then his voice trailed away.

“Captain Agathon,” Saul said sharply, “if you are CAG then you speak your mind at meetings! Not as disrespectfully as Starbuck, but if you have something to add, belt it out!”

“What if these aren’t our Marines?”

“Say again?” asked Adama.

What if they belong to the Thirteenth Tribe?”

Adama exhaled and he nodded. “It is a possibility, but what if they are Cylons?”

“The ship isn’t any Cylon design we have ever seen—it isn’t any Cylon design that Athena has ever seen,” Helo argued. “But that is beside the point. Whoever it is down there, Admiral, they are asking for help.”

“Oh, boy,” said Saul. “You can’t save the universe, Helo!”

“No sir, Colonel Sir. But you can save one life—or a dozen—or a hundred. If you try. Admiral, these people could be a long-lost expedition from one of the Colony worlds, or they could be the Thirteenth Tribe, and maybe something else entirely different. But they are asking for help. If it were our people down there, and someone else heard their krypter call, wouldn’t we want them to help our folks?”

Saul snorted, but Adama waved him back down. “All right. Who do we send?”

“Can’t be Galactica, or Pegasus, or Scorpia,” said Saul. “We need those ships here and Scorpia needs to finish repairs—so do we. And I’m not about to risk a Bezrek on a wild goose chase, so that leaves Anubis or just a Raptor flight.”

Adama nodded. “Sending Anubis would get her and her crew out of the President’s line of fire for a few days—contact Major Caldwell. Inform her that I need her to report aboard immediately for a briefing. And Saul, get with Scorpia’s Marines—they have already worked with Caldwell’s people, and have Aisne assign . . . a platoon. That should be enough with what they already have.”